60 years on from its inception, The Prisoner TV series which starred Patrick McGoohan, continues to enthral, entertain and baffle viewers – and still prompts analysis and interest from its many fans.
Back in 2017, Prisoner enthusiast Ed Fordham set about producing a carefully curated three-volume set of publications entitled It Means What It Says, for which a host of writers and Prisoner aficionados and fans were invited to explain the hidden, and not so hidden, meanings that the series contained.
Completed after his death by Rick Davy, Half A Dozen of the Other, available here, the title taken from a line in the show’s first episode, concludes this astonishing trilogy, with a host of articles and essays concentrating on the final five episodes of the series and the legacy it has created.
In addition to Rick Davy (author of The Prisoner: The Essential Guide), contributors include (in alphabetical order) Chris Bainbridge (co-author of Free For All – Rediscovering The Prisoner with another contributor to this collection, Cai Ross, both cohosts of the Free for All Podcast); David Barrie (author of What’s It All About?: The Prisoner: Question Everything, published in June); film maker, musician and writer Sophia Cacciola; Karl Frunz; Roger Goodman (author of George Markstein and The Prisoner); Rodney Marshall (editor of A Splash of Objection on a Canvas: The Prisoner, Sixty Years On, published earlier this year); editor and PortmeiriCon host Cyril Martin; The UnMutual Website contributor Tom Mayer; Dr Andrew K Shenton (author of The Prisoner Compared), David Stimpson (author of The Prisoner Dusted Down: A Personal Examination of The Prisoner TV Series), Columbo fan and writer Lee Spilberg; TUW writer and contributor Nur Suliman; and many others.
Profits from the sale of this book will be donated to MIND and Ty Gobaith Children’s Hospice.
Ed Fordham was a popular figure on social media and it was through these connections that he gathered together a number of article writers and contributors to create two books about The Prisoner, It Means What It Says and One Likes to Know Everything, published in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
Writing a number of insightful pieces himself for the volumes, he nevertheless insisted that all profits from both books be donated to charity.
• Half A Dozen of the Other – It Means What It Says: Volume Three by Ed Fordham & Rick Davy is available here through AmazonUK (Affiliate Link) | Amazon.com
Volume One of It Means What It Says is still available from a variety of online sources, including The Prisoner shop, and the Standard (ISBN: 978-1549572395) and Full Colour (ISBN: 978-1522000020) editions are both available here and here respectively from AmazonUK (Affiliate Links)
Volume Two of It Means What It Says is trickier to locate, published in 2018 in Standard (ISBN: 978-1388147730) and Full Colour (ISBN: 978-1388147143)
Head downthetubes for…
• The Unmutual Website is dedicated to the 1960s TV series The Prisoner, starring Patrick McGoohan, and the village of Portmeirion in North Wales where the series was filmed.
The site not only reports on The Prisoner related news but also includes numerous useful resources about the show, including this excellent book list and events guide
• Six of One was established in 1977, and is a non-commercial operation and is the only appreciation society for The Prisoner that has received official acknowledgement and recognition. It is administered by a small number of enthusiasts, all unpaid volunteers working in their own free time.
• PortmeiriCon, The Prisoner Portmeirion Official Convention hosted by Six of One takes place on 16th – 18th April 2027
With thanks to Lew Stringer for the news tip
- About the Author
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Books, downthetubes News, Other Worlds, Television
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